DISSOCIATIVE HALLUCINATION

   The term dissociative hallucination is indebted to the Latin words dis (apart, away from each other) and associare (to gather, to unite). In its broadest sense, the term dissociative hallucination is considered more or less synonymous with terms such as * pseudohallucination, *quasi-hallucination, *hysterical hallucination, and * psychotic-like hallucination, which all refer to a perceptual phenomenon that for some reason or other does not fulfil all the formal criteria of a * hallucination proper. In a more restricted sense, the term dissociative hallucination is used to denote a hallucination occurring in the context of * dissociation. As used in the latter sense, dissociative hallucinations are traditionally deemed to occur during episodes of clouded or narrowed consciousness (i.e. during * twilight states), to have a sudden and dramatic onset, and to be precipitated in many cases by an upsetting situation or event. The alleged existence of a phenomeno-logical distinction between dissociative hallucinations and * hallucinations proper is increasingly losing credence. For a discussion ofthis issue, see the entry Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and hallucinations, as well as the entry Pseudohallucination.

   References

   Yee, L., Korner, A.J., McSwiggan, S., Meares, R.A., Stevenson, J. (2005). Persistent hallucinosis in borderline personality disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 46, 147-154.